HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-24-Special MinutesWAUKEE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
June 24,2013
A.Call to Order -The special meeting of the Waukee City Council was called to order by Mayor
Peard at 5:31 p.m.at the Waukee Community Center,355 7th St.
B.Roll Call-The following members were present:Mayor William F.Peard;Council Members Shane
Blanchard,Casey L.Harvey,Shelly Hughes,C.Isaiah McGee,Mike Watts.Absent:None.
Also in attendance:City Administrator Tim Moerman,Director of Finance Linda Burkhart,Director of
Public Works John Gibson,Parks and Recreation Director Matt Jermier,Director of Development
Services Brad Deets,City Planner Ben Landhauser,City Clerk Rebecca D.Schuett.
C.Agenda Approval -Council Member Harvey moved to approve the agenda;seconded by Council
Member Blanchard.Results of vote:Ayes:Blanchard,Harvey,Hughes,McGee,Watts.Nays:
None.Motion carried 5 -O.
D.Action Items:
1)Resolution:Consideration of approval ofa resolution approving Reimbursement
Agreement by and between the City of Waukee,Iowa,and MidAmerican Energy
Company [Alice's Road/University Avenue Intersection,Utility Relocation]-Council
Member Hughes moved to approve the resolution;seconded by Council Member Harvey.
Director of Public Works Gibson reviewed the agreement as it relates to the relocation of an
existing electrical utility pole.Council Member Harvey asked if the relocate would be done live
or if there would be outages;Mr.Gibson replied that the power would be rerouted and in the
evenings.Council Member Watts asked if it would be less expensive to realign the intersection;
Mr.Gibson replied in the negative,noting costs associated with the Union Pacific Railroad
crossing.He added that the City would need to pay for any utility relocation along Alice's Road
north of University Avenue.Results of vote:Ayes:Blanchard,Harvey,Hughes,McGee,Watts.
Nays:None.Motion carried 5 -O.(Resolution #13-163)
At this time,City Planner Landhauser briefly presented on the current status of the City website and
plans to migrate the site to a more secure third party administrator.In the short term,the third party
administrator (Blue Compass)will need to make all updates to the website,as City staff will not have
administration rights.City Administrator Moerman added that staff would present a strategy and options
for Council consideration on how best to move forward with selecting a long-term administrator.Council
Member McGee asked if the City would be charged by Blue Compass to update webpages;Mr.
Moerman replied in the affirmative.Council Member Watts questioned why City staff could not manage
the website in-house;Mr.Moerman and Councii Member Harvey explained the City did not have the
proper software or a staff member with proper training.Council Member Hughes asked if any personal
or financial information was compromised by the recent hacking of the website;Director of Finance
Burkhart replied in the negative.
E.Work Session:
1)Alice's Road Corridor Project,University Ave.to Hickman Rd.-Patrick Kueter with Foth
Infrastructure &Environment,LLC,noted that prior traffic studies indicate that the roadway
segment in question may need to be planned as a 6-lane roadway instead of 4 lanes.He also
discussed potential right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation issues associated with the
project,as well as the projected cost to add the additional lanes.The Council spoke in favor of
the 6-lane concept.
2)Community Center transition plan -Director of Development Services Deets reviewed the
timeline for completion of construction of the project,including the punchlist for the building,
landscaping and irrigation.Council Member Hughes asked if an AED would be installed;Mr.
Deets replied that staff would research grant opportunities for an AED,Parks and Recreation
Director Jermier discussed a possible rentai policy and rate structure for the facility,which wiii
be presented for formal consideration by the Council at the Juiy 15 regular meeting.Mayor
Peard asked when the faciiity would be available for rentals;Mr.Jermier stated that August 1
was the projected date for rentals to begin.Mr.Jermier also discussed the possible hiring of a
site supervisor to handle pre-rental set-up and post-rental facility review.
3)Procedure for appointments to citizen boards and committees -City Administrator
Moerman reviewed possibie procedure revisions to the appointment process,including
realigning appointments so that all terms run for the calendar year and eliminating the interview
process used by certain boards.Council Member McGee expressed concern that
appointments had the potential to be politicaiiy motivated,especiaiiy during election years;
Mayor Peard replied that he did not see such issues,as appointments require approval by the
majority of the council.Council Member Harvey spoke in favor of the proposed changes as a
way to avoid potentiaiiy strained relationships with seated board members if their recommended
candidates are not appointed;Mayor Peard agreed with Council Member Harvey.Council
Member McGee suggested altering appointments to begin February 1"to allow new council
members time to consider the appointments.After a brief discussion,the Mayor and Council
agreed to make appointments at the second meeting in January,with terms beginning February
1".Mr.Moerman reviewed the next steps in the process,including communication of the new
procedure with the citizen boards and ordinance revisions.
4)Role of council liaisons to citizen boards and committees -City Administrator Moerman
recommended that representatives of the various boards and committees report to the Council
at regular meetings instead of assigning council members to attend those board meetings and
report to the rest of the Council.Council Member Blanchard spoke in favor of maintaining a
council liaison to the Parks Board,Library Board of Trustees,and Planning and Zoning
Commission.Council Member McGee replied that council members could continue attending
board meetings without any formal appointment as a liaison.Mr.Moerman also suggested
regular joint meetings between the boards and City Council.
5)Policy for reimbursement -City Administrator Moerman reviewed the existing policy.Council
Member Harvey voiced the opinion that there should be no meal reimbursement for meetings
among council members that take place in the metro area.Mayor Peard noted two recent
meetings he had where he paid for a council member's meal due to special circumstances.
The Council agreed that the current policy required no amendment as it already addresses
meetings among elected officials.
6)Iowa League of Cities 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibit -City Administrator Moerman
presented information on the upcoming conference;Mayor Peard and Council Member McGee
wiii attend.
F.Comments
Adjournment -Council Member McGee moved to adjourn;seconded by Council Member Hughes.
Ayo"~1.N""None.Mol;"carried 5 -O.~Il _
Meeting Adjourned at 7:07 p.m./-,J1~~If~"~~L---L~""---==---_
~.Peard,Mayor
Attest:
Rebecca D.Schuett,City Clerk
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